Chris Morocco

“Normally, making polenta means having a convenient excuse to use all the butter, milk, and Parmesan in my fridge. Using miso and water instead builds tons of flavor but keeps the texture light.”

“The secret to sheet pan dinners is having a sauce, condiment, or other raw-and-crunchy finisher that comes together outside of the oven, otherwise everything on the plate has the same, monotonous roasty-dry texture.”

“Once you get your hands on some nduja, chances are you will find all kinds of ways to use it.”

“Surprisingly, fish works great for sheet pan dinners because it cooks quickly through direct pan contact.”

“Kombucha is a great just-walked-in-the-door, sweet-tart wine replacement.”

“Invest in decent cookware. One $80 skillet is better than a $100 13-piece set that has nine things you don't need.”

“When I was growing up, a warm, crusty baguette was within arm's reach during every dinner: sliced, if my mom was cooking, or left whole so we could tear it apart if my dad was at the stove.”

“The deliciousness of a bowl of pasta isn't proportional to the time it takes to make it: A three-hour ragu doesn't necessarily taste 15 times better than a 10-minute butter-and-Parm weeknight affair.”

“When it comes to breakfast, baked goods are my weakness (besides coffee): toast, croissants, heck, even a scone on the weekend. There is one bakery item, though, that you will never see in my life, and that's a muffin.”

“I find it is imperative to switch my footwear at least once throughout the day to avoid fatigue, bouncing around the office in Superfeet-clad sneakers, then slipping into clogs whenever I am in the kitchen.”

“Round, crispy-edged waffles on the DIY cafeteria station at Oberlin College brought me back to life after many sleep-deprived nights.”

“The injustice I feel when my kids drag me out of bed by 6 most mornings is tempered and possibly even erased by the happiness I feel when eating a thick piece of whole-grain toast with a shamelessly large cup of coffee.”

“Everyone's definition of healthy (and delicious) is different.”

“The funny thing about bowl recipes is, despite how simple they might seem, they can actually be a lot of work.”

“Hodo Soy's firm tofu is certainly stir-fry-able, but my favorite thing to do is shred it using the large holes of a box grater and use it in vegan sloppy joes.”

“My dad had a wildly embarrassing habit for a while, that luckily only came out when he was traveling abroad. When trying to decide what restaurant to eat in, he would boldly stride in to the kitchen of every possible contender and have a look around.”

“I was Bookings Production Manager at Vogue, a fancy way of saying that I helped produce photo shoots and booked hair, makeup, and modeling talent.”

“I've found that grilled chicken is one of the fastest, easiest ways of getting protein on my family's plate, but it needs a massively flavorful sauce to finish it during the final minutes of cooking.”

“Pureed soups kinda suck. By definition, they have one flavor and one texture, a visual blank space where something much more interesting should be.”

“My wife is English and grew up eating Dairy Milk and Flakes and Twirls, so while she loves dark chocolate, she also has a soft spot for the milkier stuff.”